Stephanie Burns, CEO of Midland-based Dow Corning Corp., met last week with President Barack Obama as part of a roundtable on business innovation and renewable energy.
Burns was one of several business leaders Obama invited to the White House for the meeting, Dow Corning spokesman Jarrod Erpelding said.
The corporation and its Saginaw-based subsidiary, Hemlock Semiconductor Corp., are heavily involved in the emerging solar energy industry.
Burns visited Washington, D.C., last week with 10 Dow Corning customers to lobby for a plan to foster the solar industry the United States. Less than 1 percent of U.S. energy is solar generated.
Burns is promoting a four-part plan that calls on the government to do the following:
* Enact a broad legislative and regulatory package to encourage the growth of the renewable energy industry and encourage consumer use.
* Increase investment in research and development solar energy technologies.
* Increase renewable energy-related education, training and job creation.
* Have the government take the lead in using clean-energy technologies.
Dow Corning's silicon-based materials are used in solar cell manufacturing, solar module assembly and installation. In the past five years, Dow Corning and Hemlock have announced investments of more than $5 billion to research, develop and expand production of solar materials.
The meeting was the latest in a series of small-scale roundtables that the President is hosting and included Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson and several other CEOs of renewable energy companies at the White House.
“Solar energy is a clean, efficient and readily available technology that with the right support could help transform America’s energy, environmental and economic future,” Burns said. “To make America a 21st century solar power, we need smart and effective government policies that will help the private sector grow, thrive and create thousands of new jobs.”
The trip to Washington was the second in as many weeks for Burns and other Dow Corning representatives to discuss solar energy policy with government officials.
On June 23, Dow Corning and 10 customers met with key members of Congress and the Administration, including House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman and Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Carol Browner, to deliver the four-point policy plan.
To learn more about Dow Corning’s efforts to promote a comprehensive energy policy that will support the growth and success of a vibrant American solar energy industry visit www.dowcorning.com/solarpolicy.
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